How Do You Do?
by Laylana-Fairyweather
Summary: A PreWarPostWar Frame Story of a romance that started with the answering of questions. HGSS Rated M for future chapters. Not HBP compliant!
1. Prologue

How do you Do?

Chapter 1 – Prologue

It was happening, actually happening. They had won, it was over. Voldemort was dead and I was free! I could be who I wanted and do what I truly wanted. What was my first action as a free muggleborn in the wizarding world? Finding the man I loved of course.

There he was. As incredible as ever, the look of euphoria on his face bringing a tear to my eye. Yes, he was free too. We were free. He looked over and saw me and smiled that one special smile for me. As if in a dream he ran over, scooped me into his arms twirled me around, laughing the whole time. He set me down on my feet and bent down givning me one of the most incredible kisses of my life. I held onto him for dear life, afraid that this was another dream I was having, and also my knees were suddenly jelly.

Merlin, if I ever tire of this man, strike me where I stand.

He was everything that was incredible and fantastic about the world, and he was with me! Me, the plain jane of the world. How did I get so lucky?

And the icing on the cake? He wanted to marry me! And in the now Voldemort free world, that was a possibility.

In front of me he bent down on one knee, took my hand and pulled out the ring he had promised me. A diamond hearted claddagh made of silver. He put it on my hand and looked up at me expectantly. Even through my cloud of tears I could tell he was still nervous, even though I had told him many countless times of my love for him, he still expected me to leave him at a moments notice. I shook my head yes and managed to choke out a "yes". I grabbed me into his arms and held me feircly. I understood of course, I was finally his to claim. After waiting for the right time, hiding, whispered conversations in hall ways, Pseudonyms in letters, and extra wards when we were in the same room alone. The fights the ensued because of the stress almost tore us apart, as it is, it's a miracle we are standing here together on the battle field, being applauded by many on-lookers.

We were practically the poster children for the side of the light. Him, a spy, a pureblood, oppressed for years from loving by the side of the dark. Myself being the most brilliant witch of my age, a muggle born, best friend of Harry Potter, oppressed from achieving my full potential by the side of the dark.

Yes, full opposites, except were it really counted to us. Both incredibly brilliant, with the same interests in books, potions, and music. He was tall and leanly muscular, I was short and curvy. He had dark features, I had warm features. He was the epitome of Slytherin, I the epitome of Griffindor. Yes perfect opposites. But merlin, how I loved him.

How did perfect opposites such as us find eachother, you may ask?

In the place where we are both most comfortable, where our guard is down, and our nerves calmed. In our true element, we were thrown together, for the side of the light. Where my curiosity over ran itself and I found the answers to all the questions I ever had about the man that sparked my interest since the moment I meet him:

What language do you speak, if you speak at all?

Are you some kind of freak who lives to raise the ones who fall?

Would you tell me why the cat fights the dog?  
Do you go to the Mosque or the Synagogue?   
And if our fates have all been wrapped around your finger  
And if you wrote the script then why the troublemakers?  
How do you do?  
How does it feel to be so high?  
And are you happy?  
Do you ever cry?  
You've made mistakes, well that's OK 'cause we all have, but if I forgive yours, will you forgive mine?  
Hey, do you feel our pain and walk in our shoes?  
Have you ever felt starved or is your belly always full?  
How many people die and hurt in your name?  
Hey, does that make you proud or does it bring you shame?

Yes, so many questions I had about him then, and now looking at him, I realized that I loved him for all his faults, his mistakes, his pains.

How did two people such as us get together?

In the Potions Lab of course………..

Ok, so Prologue, what do you think, next chapter might be up either tonight or tomorrow. The story is based on "How do you Do" by Shakira. I heard it and it is such a HG/SS song. All the questions asked above are lyrics of the song, and will be incorporated in the story, probably being the theme and basis of some of the chapters. It is a Frame Story, meaning we start here and go back and until we know all the info and then flip back. Once I'm done in the past I might write several chapters concerning the "post-War life"

Please review!

LFJ


	2. Are you ever happy?

As the staircase moved upward my stomach twirled. There was no denying the fact that I was nervous. I had been summoned to the headmaster's office, for a reason I didn't know. Had I done something wrong? Was it the late nights in the library? How had they found out? I always used the invisibility cloak! It wasn't that bad. I could be like over half the population of the school and be sneaking out to meet with some other delinquent to fulfill the desires of my raging hormones! No, I snuck out to be with my first, and to this point, only love. My books.

I know I'm a teenage girl and should be looking forward to sneaking off with a boy to "experiment". But to be honest, none of them appealed to me. They all seemed so immature and rather gross. Sure I had made out with Ron once or twice last year, but I found my self drifting off and reciting incantations and potions ingredience while his hand was up my shirt. I was just un excited. And I thought through all of this "Isn't he done yet?"

I know, that's not normal either. Or so I found out when I tried talking to Lavender and Parvati. They were quick to tell me I was doing something wrong, and that I needed to "get into it more". I simply asked if there was a book on the subject. They handed me the Kama Sutra and started giggling.

Ok, so back to the present.

I sat down in the room and immediately started fidgeting. In Dumbledore's office stood Professor McGonegall and Professor Snape. The headmaster let out a chuckle as he observed my nervous habit.

"Ms. Granger, there is nothing to be nervous about. You have done nothing wrong. Actually we brought you here to ask a favor of you. You see were in a bit of a bind and need help with…."

"Albus this is insane! I do not need the help of a student!"

"Severus, the measure of a man includes whether or no he asks for help when it is needed. Or if he is bull headed about it."

"She will not agree anyway."

"We will let her decide that Severus. Now, as I was saying. We have need of an assistant to Professor Snape. Not just an ordinary assistant. The Order is in need of several potions before the war starts. We would rather be prepared and so we are starting now, in anticipation that the strike will come after the school year. Being that it is already second semester, you can understand our need for help. You would be making potions, some rather difficult ones, and it would not interfere with your school work, it would be 5 nights a week for 3 hours. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. From 7-10. You are the most qualified and trusted candidate, as you show a great understanding and talent for potions. What do you have to say?"

I thought about it for a few moments, very much aware of all the eyes boring into me. It was a great chance to further my knowledge of potions, and it would help the order greatly. What else could I say?

"Headmaster, it would be an honor to help the order and to contribute to the war effort in any way possible. And I would be delighted to learn of new potions while I still have the opportunity."

"Well spoken Ms. Granger. Seeing as today is Monday, and it is leading on towards almost dinner, we will begin tomorrow at 7."

"I will certainly be there headmaster. I will look forward to tomorrow evening Professor Snape."

"Don't be so certain Ms. Granger."

"I have no doubts"

He only nodded his head in response. This was going to be an interesting end to the year!

The next morning I awoke and dressed in the same manner as always, fussing with and cursing at my hair. I was covered from neck to toe, shirt buttoned all the way, arms covered by a sweater, knee length skirt a tad too long and knee high socks a tad too high. It was what I preferred. I saw no reason to show off my body the way other girls did. Who did I have to impress? If I could I would have worn a boy's uniform with pants and a tie. Outside of school, I was almost all covered, wearing pants, shirts, sweaters and jackets, gloves. The whole deal. And to be made to wear a skirt wear was almost humiliating. When I did wear skirts and dresses they always came to my calf, if not longer. My favorite skirt was a floor length black velvet skirt.

Classes were the usual drone of incompetent students and dull work. Teachers taught things I had already taught myself. They assigned essays that I could write in my sleep and most likely would write in a half comatose state.

At dinner, Harry and Ron droned on about Quidditch for a time until they realized I wasn't even making remarks about better uses of time.

"Mione what's up?" Harry asked

"Yea, you're being unusually quiet."

"It's nothing, just had a lot on my mind."

"What else is new, it's all those books you read." Harry joked, noting the book sitting next to me.

"Or is it dreading your time with the great bat?"

"Ron! He is Professor Snape, and you know I don't like you talking about him that way. And I am not dreading it; I'm looking forward to the challenge."

They both looked at me quite open mouthed at my statement. I let out a sigh and left to the dungeons. It was 10 minutes till 7, but I would wait. I sat down next to the door and started to feel cold. I transfigured my skirt to be my favorite black one and my top to be my long-sleeved poet's shirt with ruffles in the front and multi layered bell sleeves (buttoned to the neck of course). I also got my bell sleeved black over cloak and my boots. Yes this was good and warm. As soon as I was done, Professor Snape showed up and un locked his door with a wave of his hand.

He took in my appearance and let a smirk grace his lips.

"Going for a matching look Ms. Granger? You might want to be careful; people will begin to think I've made you a vampire as well."

"No sir, this is how I usually dress, outside of Hogwarts anyway. As for the students making comments, I could care less. Goodness knows what they already say about me."

"I think I quite prefer this to the schools uniform. It suits you better."

"Professor, was that a compliment?"

"Don't expect it to happen regularly, and if you repeat it, I will deny it completely."

"Understood, sir."

"Good, now, we will start with the rudimentary potions, healing and restorative potions, we will begin complex potions when I am satisfied with your progress."

"What will we begin first sir?"

"A standard healing potion, we will need many of them, I am sure you realize why."

"Yes sir. Might I ask why I was chosen for this task?"

"You have the highest grades in my class and you already know of the Order and its operations."

"I would have thought I would be your last choice sir."

"You were"

"Oh."

We worked diligently on our potions, each over a large cauldron. With the heat of the fire and the steam, I began to sweat. I pulled my hair back into a quick bun and removed my outer robe. I looked over and noticed Professor Snape had also removed his outer robe. Man he has a nice body.

Wait

What?

I've never thought about a guy this way before. What brought about this change? Yes he was academically prestigious. And he did have a certain dark appeal to him, and as it seems, a good body under all his robes. But he was unpleasant to be around. I looked at the clock and realized we had already been here for two of our three hours. Ok, not entirely unpleasant.

"Ms. Granger, you can stop staring at me now."

Shit. Caught.

"I was just, ummm, wondering where you got your robes." That was a crappy lie if ever I heard one.

"As hard as I know it must be to resist staring at my person" he said scathingly and sarcastically with a smirk in place "You must focus on the potion at hand."

"Terribly sorry sir, it won't happen again."

We finished our potions and bottled them into a row of vials, had to be 50 out of each cauldron. Once the lab was cleaned, I began to put my cloak back on, once again feeling the chill of the dungeons.

"Ms. Granger"

"Yes, Professor"

"Your work here is much appreciated"

"It is my pleasure sir"

"Ms. Granger"

"Yes, Professor"

"I really didn't mind you staring all that much"

"I wasn't interested in where you got your robes"

"Yes well, see you tomorrow evening"

"Sir?"

"Yes Ms. Granger"

"How come you never smile?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you smirk, but never smile. Are you ever happy?"

"I do not believe that is any of your business"

"Yes of course, terribly sorry sir, I over stepped my boundaries"

"Goodnight Ms Granger"

"Goodnight Professor"

As I left, little did I know, I missed a true and genuine smile from my Professor.

Ok, another chapter up just as promised! So some mild flirtation this chapter, it will probably be the same next chapter. I'm eager for them to get together, but want to pace myself.

Thank you Transylvanian for the review!

Next chapter up sometime soon, maybe tomorrow or the day after. Depending on how inspired I get!

LFJ


	3. Daily Bread

The next morning I woke up and resisted putting on my school robes. To be safe I grabbed my Hogwarts rule book. It stated that I was to wear a Hogwarts female uniform, it said nothing about modifying it. Finally a loop hole! I took out my skirt and made it reach the floor instead and made my robe a matching length. Much better!

In the great hall there was much buzz over my outfit, but in the end nothing could be done about it. I could have sworn I saw Professor Snape smirk down at me. This was sure to be a topic of discussion tonight.

Through the day several students asked me about my loop hole, which I happily told them. Individualism was back at Hogwarts! I have to admit I was rather proud of what I had accomplished. Sure it was as simple as looking in a book, but it made Hogwarts much more interesting.

I skipped dinner and instead stayed in my dorm, preparing for the potions lesson.

I changed into a bell sleeved White shirt that clung everywhere, a black vest with boning in it, but not quite a corset. I put on a pair of black pants and my black outer robe.

As I arrived Professor Snape was waiting for me. He grinned at my appearance but we soon start to work on 'Wanifer's Restorative Potion' named obviously after the inventor. It was again me with one cauldron and him with another. Again we both removed our outer robes and I put my hair up.

As I continued to work I found him looking at me with an odd look in his eyes. I glanced up and he quickly looked away. That was odd. I was sure he was staring so intently at me. Well, best to not let it distract me from my work. It was rather dull, but to me it was calming, the stirring the adding, the stirring the adding.

There it was again. The feeling that he was looking at me. I instead went for a different approach. I slowly started to unbutton my shirt. I got down to where it was showing about half my chest, I let out a low moan. He fell out of his chair. With a wave of my wand my shirt was back to its buttoned state. I went over and knelt beside him.

"Professor, are you ok?"

"I am perfectly fine. You however." He stopped seeing my shirt was perfectly buttoned.

"I what professor?"

"Nothing Ms. Granger, I'm sure it was a mirage caused from the heat of the potions."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I am fine Ms. Granger, the potions have about 3 more minutes and then they will be bottled accordingly. After that we will discuss some things."

The rest of the three minutes was spent with me wondering what the hell he wanted to discuss. However, in no time the potions were bottled and we were in his office, with tea and pastries.

"Ms. Granger, I noticed your attire today, as did the rest of the school."

"It is perfectly fine according to the guidelines set in the Hogwarts rule book."

"I am perfectly aware of the Hogwarts rule book. I discovered the same thing in my years and used it on my robes to make a more dignified look. I'm surprised you didn't discover it before now."

"I hadn't really thought of it, really. Until the other night when I felt so comfortable in my usual attire, I then decided to check into it. You are not mad then?"

"Hardly, I'm slightly pleased with it."

"How so?"

"Well think about, outside of house definition, the students have no way of showing who they really are. Individuality is very important for any young witch or wizard. It is important for their development."

"I am hardly a young witch at an impressionable age, professor."

"I am becoming increasingly aware of that fact."

They sat there in an awkward silence for some time, both blushing and looking or a way to recover the conversation.

"Professor, I know that you might not prefer to spend your time with me, but I think you should know that I very much enjoy the time we spend together."

"In the beginning it seemed like the end of the world. But I must admit I am starting to find it to be tolerable."

"I am glad I am 'tolerable' sir."

He grinned at each other. If anybody else had seen tit they would have thought we were completely bonkers, off our rockers finally. The head of Slytherin and the Gryffindor know it all, grinning like children that have just seen the ice cream man.

"Well Ms. Granger, I believe that would be the end of our session this evening. Tomorrow same time I believe."

"Yes professor, I look forward to it."

"As do I Ms. Granger"

That night in my bed I couldn't stop thinking of the tall dark mysterious man with a voice of Velvet. He seemed to be holding my thoughts a lot lately. Surely it was a fascination that all girls feel for their teacher at some point or another. At best it was an admiration of his talent and intelligence. What else could it be?

Little did I know the man several floors below was thinking some of the same things about me.

* * *

Ok, so this one doesn't really have a theme from the song but I just couldn't fit one in there. I hope you will forgive me!

Next one up when I get inspired!

LFJ


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